Prince Andrew's renunciation of his royal title will “vindicate” Virginia Giuffre from accusing him of sexual assault, his family has said, as King Charles III tries to turn the page on a scandal that has tarnished the monarchy's reputation.
• Also read: Disputes with Epstein: Prince Andrew renounces his titles of nobility
Under pressure from his brother, King Charles III, Prince Andrew, 65, announced on Friday he would renounce his title as Duke of York following new revelations about his links to US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Virginia Giuffre, who accused the prince of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 and killed herself last April, will be “very proud” of the rejection, her brother Sky Roberts told the BBC.
“We have shed many tears of joy and sadness,” he said Friday, “because in many ways this proves Virginia right.”
Prince Andrei, thus renouncing the last honors of his royal life, once again “categorically denied the accusations brought against him.”
The move comes shortly before King Charles and Queen Camilla's state visit on Wednesday and Thursday to the Vatican, where they will meet Pope Leo XIV. This solemn moment may be overshadowed by new revelations.
AFP
Release on Tuesday Nobody's girlVirginia Giuffre's posthumous memoirs promise, according to excerpts already revealed, to be murderous for the prince.
“The royal family enjoys a very important status, especially in the United Kingdom. Given everything that has happened, I think it's the right thing to do,” said Kat Sunnucks, an interior designer whom AFP met in London on Saturday.
Shortly after announcing his resignation on Friday, Democratic members of a U.S. House committee released documents from Epstein's estate that show Andrew traveled on the financier's private jet at least four times.
According to these flight logs, “Prince Andrew” was listed as a passenger twice in 1999: once in 2000 with Epstein and his companion and accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and then again with her in 2006.
“Heroine”
On Friday, Virginia's brother Giuffre offered to speak with members of the British Parliament and even King Charles III to “present the evidence available (…) so that his voice can continue to be heard.”
“It is important that the world knows what a heroine she was, and how much there is still to learn” about the case of Epstein, who was found dead in prison in 2019, Mr Roberts added.
Andrew retired from public life five years ago after a disastrous TV interview in which he defended his friendship with Epstein.
AFP
This week, other revelations appeared in the British press, which, in particular, claimed that the prince, who assured in 2019 that he had severed all ties with Jeffrey Epstein in December 2010, lied and maintained contacts with the American financier.
In addition to his relationship with Epstein, the prince is at the center of other cases, including his ties to a Chinese spy suspect.
Enough to anger Buckingham Palace, which has stepped up pressure on him recently, pushing Andrew to admit the allegations were “harmful to the work of Her Majesty and the Royal Family.”
His renunciation of the title “Duke of York” prevents Parliament from debating and possibly passing laws to strip him of the title – a painful new episode that would make headlines. Therefore, he only retains his title of prince.
Virginia Giuffre committed suicide on April 25 at the age of 41 on her farm in Western Australia.
In 2021, she filed lawsuits against the prince, who avoided trial in New York by paying her millions of dollars.
“(Andrew) felt it was his right to sleep with me” because of his status, she says in her memoir, saying she was introduced to the prince in March 2001 while she was in London with Ghislaine Maxwell.
